In the early 1900s, long before interstate highways and online shopping, much of Michigan depended on traveling salesmen. This winter photograph shows one such figure standing beside a horse-drawn cutter outfitted for snow. Painted clearly on the side are the words “Watkins Remedies,” along with advertising for flavoring extracts and ground spices.
From Winona to the Wolverine State
The J.R. Watkins Medical Co., founded in 1868 in Winona, Minnesota, became one of the most recognized names in patent medicines and household products in the Upper Midwest. By the turn of the 20th century, the company had built a wide network of independent sales agents. Michigan, with its mix of small towns, lumber camps and isolated farms, was prime territory.
When Roads Were Suggestions
The wagon in this image is fitted with runners instead of wheels, a practical adjustment for Michigan winters. Dirt roads could turn impassable with snow and ice. Rail lines connected major cities such as Detroit and Grand Rapids, but beyond those hubs, commerce often depended on horsepower. For many rural families, a trip to town was not a quick errand. It could take hours.
Medicine, Marketing and Monthly Tabs
Watkins agents were more than delivery drivers. They were marketers, credit managers and community regulars. Many extended small lines of credit to farm families, collecting payment after harvest. In return, they offered products that promised relief from common ailments. Liniments claimed to soothe sore muscles. Extracts and spices improved home cooking at a time when variety was limited and store shelves were sparse outside larger cities.
The Patent Medicine Era — With a Disclaimer
It is important to place this era in context. The early 1900s marked the height of patent medicine sales in the United States. Oversight was limited until the federal Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Companies could make broad claims about effectiveness, and not all remedies lived up to their advertising. While Watkins survived well beyond the patent medicine boom and expanded into food products, the period was shaped by both innovation and aggressive marketing.
More Than a Sales Call
Still, for rural Michigan residents, the arrival of a Watkins wagon was practical and social. News traveled slowly. A salesman might bring catalogs, updates from neighboring towns or word of shifting crop prices. In communities stretching from Lansing north to the Upper Peninsula, such visits broke the routine of winter isolation.
Suitcase in Hand, Miles to Go
The man in this photograph stands formally dressed, suitcase in hand. The case likely held order forms, receipts and product samples. His posture suggests professionalism and patience. Selling door-to-door required persistence, especially in Michigan’s cold months. Snow-packed roads and freezing winds were part of the job.
The End of the Horse Era
This image captures a turning point between older and newer economies. Within a few decades, automobiles would replace horses on many of these routes. Improved roads and centralized retail stores would reduce the need for traveling wagons. National brands would move from face-to-face sales to storefront shelves and printed advertisements.
A Knock That Meant Connection
Yet companies like Watkins built loyalty that lasted generations. In many Michigan households, small brown bottles of extract and tins of salve became familiar fixtures. The brand endured because it adapted to changing times while keeping a foothold in the communities that first sustained it.
Today, this photograph offers more than nostalgia. It shows how goods once moved through Michigan: slowly, locally and through personal relationships. Before chain pharmacies and online checkout carts, commerce depended on cold mornings, steady horses and a knock at the door.
That knock carried more than a sales pitch. It carried connection in a state defined as much by its distances as by its towns.
